# Wang Baoqiang

Wang Baoqiang (simplified Chinese: 王宝强; traditional Chinese: 王寶強; pinyin: Wáng Bǎoqiáng; born 29 May 1984) is a Chinese martial artist, actor and director. Wang first received recognition in the film Blind Shaft (2003), for which he shared the Best New Performer prize at the Golden Horse Awards. He went on to star in the television series Soldiers Sortie (2006) and My Brother's Name is Shun Liu (2009), garnering further attention. His notable film credits include Lost on Journey (2010), Lost in Thailand (2012), Monk Comes Down the Mountain (2015), the Detective Chinatown film series (2015–2021), and Never Say Never (2023).
In 2017, Wang made his directorial debut with the action-adventure film film Buddies in India.

## Early life

Wang Baoqiang was born in Nanhe County, Xingtai, Hebei, on May 29, 1984, to Wang Yinsheng (王银生) and Liu Huan (刘焕), both his parents are peasants. When Wang Baoqiang was 8 years old, his village showed the movie Shaolin Temple starring Jet Li, which inspired him to become a martial arts star in movies like Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Wang insisted on going to a Shaolin Temple though his family opposed it, in the same year. He trained in Shaolin martial arts.

## Career

Prior to entering the film industry, Wang was an unskilled labourer who was paid 25 yuan a day; he had not been home for over two years as he was unable to afford the railway ticket. Wang was initially rejected from acting due to his height, but got his start working as an extra in Beijing. In 2003, he was cast in the independent film Blind Shaft as a "down-to-earth" guy. For his role in Blind Shaft, Wang received the Best Newcomer award at the Golden Horse Film Festival.
Wang then starred in Feng Xiaogang's 2004 film A World Without Thieves as a naïve village boy, a performance which received critical acclaim.
In 2006, Wang starred in the military drama Soldiers Sortie, playing a soldier who is physically slow but who wins respect because of his strong faith and untiring efforts. The drama was a huge hit, and gained Wang wide critical acclaim and huge popularity.
In 2009, Wang starred in another military drama, My Brother is Shun Liu as the title character. The drama was another huge success for Wang.
For his performance in the 2011 comedy film Hello, Mr. Tree, Wang won multiple awards. He won the for Best Actor at the 9th Vladivostok International Film Festival in Russia, the award for Best Actor at the 5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the award for Best Actor at the New York Chinese Film Festival, the award for Best Actor of the 2011-2012 Chinese Youth Film Handbook, and the award for Best Actor at the Italy Asian Film Festival.
Wang's 2012 comedy film Lost in Thailand was a smash hit at the box-office. Wang is also noted for his role in the comedy film series Detective Chinatown and its sequel, Detective Chinatown 2.
In 2017, Wang made his directorial debut with the fantasy comedy film Buddies in India.
In 2019, Wang starred in Stephen Chow's comedy film The New King of Comedy.
In 2020, Wang starred in Chen Sicheng's movie "Detective Chinatown 3".

## Personal life

Wang Baoqiang married Ma Rong (马蓉) on 10 February 2010. They have two children. On 14 August 2016, Wang made a post to Sina Weibo announcing he would divorce Ma. He accused her of entering an extramarital affair with his agent, Song Zhe (宋喆), and transferring/concealing some of the couple's assets. In a later Sina Weibo post, Ma said Wang had abandoned their family, and threatened to sue him for defamation; she filed a case against Wang on August 16. The divorce became a trending topic on Sina Weibo, where posts with the hashtag #WangBaoQiangDivorce were viewed over five billion times. Wang filed for divorce that was accepted by a Beijing Court, and the trial was held in October 2016. Song's wife also filed for divorce. On October 18, 2018, the Beijing Chaoyang Court sentenced the first instance of Wang Baoqiang's former agent Song Zhe for the crime of embezzlement and was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Big Shot's Funeral | 大腕 | | Uncredited |
| 2003 | Blind Shaft | 盲井 | Yuan Fengming | |
| 2004 | A World Without Thieves | 天下无贼 | Sha Gen | |
| 2007 | Born To Run | 烈火男儿 | Long Dachuan | |
| 2007 | Assembly | 集结号 | Jiang Maocai | |
| 2007 | Two Stupid Eggs | 大电影2.0之两个傻瓜的荒唐事 | | |
| 2008 | A Mediator in Green Mountains | 绿满山乡 | Wang Xiaoqiang | |
| 2008 | The Equation of Love and Death | 李米的猜想 | Qiu Shuitian | |
| 2009 | The Founding of a Republic | 建国大业 | A soldier | |
| 2009 | Eaters | 大胃王 | Xiao Shuai | |
| 2009 | Da You Cun Bright Future | 大有前途 | A Kun | |
| 2010 | Little Big Soldier | 大兵小将 | A spy | Cameo |
| 2010 | Fire of Conscience | 火龙对决 | Huang Yong | |
| 2010 | East Wind Rain | 东风雨 | Xiao Kai | |
| 2010 | Lost on Journey | 人在囧途 | Niu Geng | |
| 2011 | Love for Life | 最爱 | Dazui | |
| 2011 | Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu | 蔡李佛拳2010 | Chen Cheng | |
| 2011 | Mr. Tree | HELLO!树先生 | Mr. Tree | |
| 2012 | Romancing in Thin Air | 高海拔之恋II | Zhang Xing | |
| 2012 | Jack of All Trades | 神通乡巴佬 | Chu Zhongtian | |
| 2012 | Fairy Tale Killer | 追凶 | Wu Zaijun | |
| 2012 | Lost in Thailand | 人再囧途之泰囧 | Wang Bao | |
| 2013 | Better and Better | 越来越好之村晚 | Yang Guoshu | |
| 2013 | Unbeatable | 激战 | Boss Chan | Cameo |
| 2014 | A Touch of Sin | 天注定 | San'er | |
| 2014 | Iceman | 冰封：重生之门 | Sa Ao | |
| 2014 | Kung Fu Jungle | 一个人的武林 | Feng Yuxiu | |
| 2015 | Running Man | 奔跑吧！兄弟 | Himself | |
| 2015 | Monk Comes Down the Mountain | 道士下山 | He An | |
| 2015 | Impossible | 不可思异 | Tang Liguo | |
| 2015 | Detective Chinatown | 唐人街·探案 | Tang Ren | |
| 2015 | PK | 我的个神啊 | PK (dub voice) | |
| 2017 | Buddies in India | 大闹天竺 | Wu Tian | |
| 2017 | Wished | 反转人生 | Megaton (voice) | Cameo |
| 2018 | Detective Chinatown 2 | 唐人街·探案2 | Tang Ren | |
| 2018 | The Faces of My Gene | 祖宗十九代 | Erdangjia | |
| 2018 | The Island | 一出好戏 | Xiao Wang | |
| 2018 | Iceman 2 | 冰封：永恒之门 | Sa Ao | |
| 2019 | The New King of Comedy | 新喜剧之王 | Ma Ke | |
| 2020 | My People, My Homeland | 我和我的家乡 | Old Tang | |
| 2021 | Detective Chinatown 3 | 唐人街·探案3 | Tang Ren | |
| 2021 | Rising Shaolin: The Protector | 少林寺之得宝传奇 | Ximendebao | |
| 2021 | Thaiflavor | 泰味儿 | | |
| 2023 | Never Say Never | 八角笼中 | Xiang Tengjun | |

### Television series

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role |
| 2002 | Seventh Imperial Envoy Liu Luoguo | 七品钦差刘罗锅 | A waiter |
| 2005 | Secret Plot | 暗算 | A Bing |
| 2006 | Legend of Shang Dynasty | 传奇·幻想殷商 | Nezha |
| 2006 | Soldiers Sortie | 士兵突击 | Xu Sanduo |
| 2006 | Red Flag Children | 红旗渠的儿女们 | Bao Xiang |
| 2009 | My Brother's Name is Shun Liu | 我的兄弟叫顺溜 | Shun Liu |
| 2010 | For New China to Go Forward | 为了新中国前进 | Dong Cunrui |
| 2011 | My Father Is Ban Deng | 我的父亲是板凳 | Bandeng |
| 2013 | Heroes in Sui and Tang Dynasties | 隋唐演义 | Li Yuanba |
| 2015 | Rise to Fame Overnight | 我是机器人 | Yuan Bao |
| 2020 | Detective Chinatown | 唐人街探案 | Tang Ren (Cameo - Season 1 & 2) |

### Variety show

| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Notes |
| 2014–2015 | Keep Running | 奔跑吧兄弟 | Cast member | |
| 2018 | Space Challenge | 挑战吧 ! 太空 | Cast member | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
| 2003 | Blind Shaft | 40th Golden Horse Awards | Best New Performer | Won |
| 2004 | Blind Shaft | 5th Deauville Asian Film Festival | Best Actor | Won |
| 2004 | Blind Shaft | 2nd Bangkok International Film Festival | Best Actor | Won |
| 2005 | A World Without Thieves | 5th Chinese Film Media Awards | Best New Performer | Nominated |
| 2006 | A World Without Thieves | 28th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best New Performer | Nominated |
| 2008 | Soldiers Sortie | 24th China TV Golden Eagle Award | Best Actor | Won |
| 2008 | Soldiers Sortie | 24th China TV Golden Eagle Award | Most Popular Actor | Won |
| 2009 | Soldiers Sortie | 27th Flying Apsaras Awards | Outstanding Actor | Nominated |
| 2010 | My Brother's Name is Shun Liu | 16th Shanghai Television Festival | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2011 | Mr. Tree | 9th Pacific Meridian | Best Actor | Won |
| 2011 | Mr. Tree | 5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards | Best Actor | Won |
| 2011 | Mr. Tree | 2nd New York Chinese Film Festival | Best Actor | Won |
| 2011 | Mr. Tree | 12th Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2012 | Mr. Tree | 10th Italy Asian Film Festival | Best Actor | Won |
| 2013 | Lost in Thailand | 20th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Most Popular Actor | Won |
| 2014 | Kung Fu Jungle | 6th Macau International Movie Festival | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |
| 2015 | Kung Fu Jungle | 34th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |
| 2015 | Kung Fu Jungle | 1st Jackie Chan Action Movie Awards | Best New Action Actor | Won |

### Forbes China Celebrity 100

| Year | Rank |
| 2013 | 98th |
| 2014 | 64th |
| 2015 | 71st |
| 2019 | 91st |
| 2020 | 96th |